MasterCard Launches "Selfie Pay" Biometric Authentication

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MasterCard Launches "Selfie Pay" Biometric Authentication

By Tim Denman - 10/10/2016

To help combat rising card-not-present fraud MasterCard has gone live with its MasterCard Identity Check application in Europe following six months of pilots in both the U.S and abroad. The solution, dubbed "Selfie Pay," requires online shoppers to show their face to their smartphone's camera to compete a transaction.

The authentication application is being rolled out in the following European markets: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK, according to Engadget. The media outlet also reports that MasterCard plans to roll out the technology worldwide in 2017.

In addition to the selfie option, the verification technology can also confirm a user's identity with fingerprint biometrics helping speed up e-commerce transactions by avoiding time consuming shopper password input, Techcrunch reports.

The need to secure the online payment infrastructure has intensified over the past year following the October 2015 EMV Liability Shift deadline. Under the EMV Mandate retailers can now be held financially responsible for the fraud conducted in their stores if they are not able to accept the latest EMV smartcard technology. The new card sport an embedded chip that makes producing counterfeit credit and debit cards extremely difficult, which has pushed many fraudsters to the online space. Card not present fraud is expected to grow by at least 100% over the next two years, according to paymentsleader.com.